It’s hard enough when things don’t go well out there on the island on Survivor. But then you have to come back home and watch them not go well all over again on television. In fact, they usually go even worse, because now you have to watch other players say lots of mean things about you. That helps explain the fragile nature of Russell Swan when Jessica Shaw and I spoke to him on this week’s edition of the InsideTV Podcast. Russell is taking a deep, long look inside himself in the wake of what could only be described as a disastrous run on Survivor: Philippines, and he explains the pain of having to explain to his 9-year-old daughter what exactly went wrong out there — meaning, basically everything. It’s about as honest of an emotional inventory as you are likely to hear (and worth you fighting through a few minutes of audio difficulty in the middle).

Also on tap this week, I take the five questions every Walking Dead fan wants answered heading into season 3 and offer juicy teases as to what to expect when the AMC drama returns this Sunday night. Plus, Jessica and I react to last week’s Homeland bombshell and preview the awesomeness in store for the next two episodes. You will not believe what is coming up next!

To hear one of most intense podcasts yet, just click on the audio player icon below. Or, since we’re on iTunes, you can subscribe for free and take the podcast with you. No iTunes? No problem. You can also download the entire podcast right here. And to send a question to the InsideTV Podcast team, follow us on Twitter @InsideTVPodcast. But first let us know what you think: Is Russell from Survivor being too hard on himself? Looking forward to the return of The Walking Dead? And what do you want Saul on Homeland to do now that he has seen the Brody confession video? The message boards are open for business!